WASHINGTON, May 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – In yet another move designed to tighten the reigns on those allowed to enter the United States, President George W. Bush on Tuesday, May 14, signed into law a bill meant to tighten U.S. border security following the September 11 attacks, while at the same time easing the way for commerce.

The bill, entitled the Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, aims to increase the number of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) inspectors, foster use of tamperproof, machine-readable passports, and a prohibition of the use of certain visas by people from nations Washington deems to be sponsors of terrorism, the White House said.

All new passports issued after 2003 will contain fingerprints or facial recognition measures.

"America is not a fortress and we never want to be a fortress," Bush said at a signing ceremony. "But . . . we can do a better job of making our borders more secure and make our borders smart."

The initiative also requires planes and passenger ships traveling from other countries to provide lists of passengers and crewmembers to a U.S. border officer before arriving.

It also creates a suspected terrorists database for use by federal agencies to screen visa applicants.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called the bill, "the most important bill passed post-9/11."

"It's the first time security has really become part of immigration policy," she said.

The bill will also mean closer scrutiny of foreign students already in the U.S.

The bill would record the acceptance of non-citizens by educational institutions, the issuance of student visas and the enrollment of non-Americans in schools. It will also force schools to tell government officials if foreign students fail to report to class, Associated Press (AP) reported.

Concerns have been raised that Arab and Muslim non-citizens would be unfairly targeted and harassed due to the new measures.

One PhD student of Muslim/Arab descent currently studying at university in Washington D.C. was gravely concerned over the new bill’s measures.

Clearly agitated and fearing repercussions by the Administration, and possibly her university, the student only agreed to talk to IslamOnline after repeated assurances that her identity would be protected.

“Of course this new bill is another attempt at targeting Arabs and Muslims and all others the U.S. deems ‘dangerous’ or ‘terrorists’ solely because we share the same ethnicity and religion as the terrorists,” she stated.

“I left Egypt to study here because educational resources there are far below standard and there is no such thing as freedom of speech or thought…and I come here to the U.S. only to see that anyone who is not an American citizen can be silenced just as easily, especially if we are Arab or Muslim.

“ It is very upsetting that if I miss a class for any personal reason, I can be deemed by the U.S. as a potential terrorist,” she told IslamOnline.

“How is this fair? We condemned the attacks [of September 11] and yet we are still lumped together with that fringe group of people willing to commit violence, ” she concluded before commenting tongue-in-cheek that she needed to get to her lecture before the “professor thinks she has skipped and then reports her to the government.”

The bill did not include one aspect Bush had been hoping for. The provision, pushed by Hispanics in the U.S., would have allowed for amnesty to be granted to illegal immigrants so that they could apply for residency without first having to be deported.

"I intend to work with Congress to see if we can't get that done here pretty quick," Bush said, news agencies reported.

Bush engages in very strong outreach activities aimed at securing support among the Hispanic community in the U.S.